by Ned P. Rauch, The (Westchester County, N.Y.) Journal News

by Ned P. Rauch, The (Westchester County, N.Y.) Journal News

Mounting clues include pictures, a lead on the suspect's name and her possible companion, and witnesses. Also gathering on the horizon: a posse of angry Willie Nelson fans and an enticing reward.

Tom Bailey, manager of the Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, said he and his staff have several clear images of the woman suspected of making off with Ol' Dillo, a mounted armadillo belonging to a member of Willie Nelson's stage crew, after Nelson's Sept. 19 show.

"We now are quite clear as to what the perpetrator looks like," he said. "We're going to close this thing up right and get that armadillo back to Mr. Nelson."

Bailey and his staff have been talking with Nelson's management and Port Chester police about how best to proceed. A criminal complaint is likely to follow soon, Bailey said.

Meantime, Texas Roadhouse, a chain of barbecue restaurants with ties to Nelson, is offering a $1,000 gift card for information leading to Ol' Dillo's return.

"We are appalled at the theft of an armadillo," Travis Doster, the chain's public relations director said in an email to The Journal News. "Such low-down behavior can't be tolerated. We are also willing to enter into an armadillo exchange and give one of our armadillos to the bandit if they will return it to Willie."

The chain is in a position to do that because, as any Texas-based business would, it features an armadillo as its mascot. They call him "Andy."

Tipsters can call the restaurant at 800-TEX-ROAD.

That Texas Roadhouse would help in the hunt for the armadillo villain is not surprising. According to Doster, Nelson is close friends with the chain's founder and has an interest in two Roadhouses in Austin, Texas. Every Texas Roadhouse - all 405 of them - has a booth or corner dedicated to the singer and decorated with Nelson memorabilia.

On Tuesday, the Capitol distributed video footage from one of its security cameras clearly showing a woman (medium build; dark, shoulder-length hair) walking onto the stage and absconding with the unassuming armored mammal, lifting it from its perch atop a mixing console.